Franchises get lazy: Emraan Hashmi

By Hindustan Times

The name Emraan Hashmi was synonymous with the Murder franchise. But he made way for Randeep Hooda in Part 3. It was the directorial debut of Vishesh Bhatt (Mahesh Bhatt’s son) and had to go on the floors soon, and he didn’t have dates to spare. That’s just one of the reasons. For Emraan, the Murder story was over anyway.

“There could be a Murder 4, 5…15, but I don’t think I’ll be part of any of these movies. For me, a franchise can at best be stretched to a trilogy. After that, it shows lack of creativity and originality to take it forward and dilute the brand,” he says. That’s why talk of a Raaz 4 doesn’t interest him.

He says, “Once Part 3 ends, it’s better to experiment with a new franchise than get lazy with an old one.”

The only sequel that the actor is interested in right now is Jannat 3. But he’s quick to add that nothing is planned yet, and if it does happen, it won’t be before 2014. “If I get it, I’ll work towards making it a successful film. But if it goes to someone else, I won’t whine or rant. Vishesh Films is making the Murder sequel with Randeep and Balaji is taking Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) forward with other actors (Akshay Kumar and Imran Khan); it’s no big deal. Even I took Raaz from Dino (Morea),” Emraan says.

Point out that his decision to work with outside banners has antagonised his uncles (Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt) and he retorts, “I’ve done other productions in the past. Yes, earlier I was doing two films a year with the family banner. Now, that’s gone down to one. They need to work with other actors, and me, with other filmmakers, or we’ll be stuck in a cesspool and end up being repetitive. Now, when we get together, it will be with something new and exciting.”